stephen R Harrison

The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. -Proverbs 12:5

A friend of mine is very skilled at trapping nuisance animals such as coyotes that attack cattle or hogs that destroy crops. These animals cost ranchers and farmers millions each year and hurt food production. He surveys the land, studies the patterns of the troublemakers, devises a plan, and executes it to perfection. He usually uses snares to catch and control these invasive species. While he’s scheming, so are they. The coyotes are stalking and the hogs are rooting to devour and destroy animals and crops. The law allows regulating these animals to increase food production and sustain farms and ranches that feed our families. 

Proverbs 12:5-7 describes the plans of both the righteous and the wicked. Both have plans but vastly different intentions. The righteous have just plans, but the wicked devise deceitful advice (5). The wicked want to destroy by any means necessary including lies. They premeditate evil while the righteous use their words to help others (6). Ultimately, the righteous are saved and the wicked are destroyed (7). A Proverbs 12 man allows the Holy Spirit to check the motive of his heart and the intention of his actions. When the Spirit shines his light on our plans, he convicts us of sinfulness. If our words and plans are meant to harm others or indulge the flesh, they must be seen by the man seeking to be godly as wicked. Scheming is of the devil. As men changed by Christ, we are no longer children tossed here and there by deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:14). Our desire must be to do the plan (will) of the Lord. We must be me who pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Similarly, Proverbs 12:12-14 uses terms like snares and traps to describe the evil man looking for ways to defraud people (12). Instead, they fall into their own snares (13). The evil and godly man work with their hands, but only the godly man is “filled with good things and rewarded” (14).  The evil man uses his hands for plundering and punishing. The godly man wants hands of compassion, gentleness, and purity.  The godly Proverbs 12 man allows himself to be rooted in the Word and the Spirit, enabling him to prosper and grow in the Lord and escape the traps of wicked men (13-14). Proverbs 12 men plan to grow in the Lord while wicked men plan to harm men. They do this by stealing, gossiping, plotting, backbiting, and any other wicked means to take advantage of others and feed sinful lusts of the flesh. The Proverbs 12 man must allow the Lord to discern his plans and be willing to be corrected by God. If he finds he has been operating in selfishness and covetousness, he repents – completely turns from the evil and to the Lord. He allows the Lord to teach him how to plan righteously.

Here’s another illustration. My neighbor’s chickens were completely wiped out one year by a coyote. The first night, the coyote killed one. The next night, he broke into the coop and killed all 20+. What was meant to provide health and nourishment was wiped out in a savage, bloodthirsty moment. A godly man realizes if his lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life (1 John 2:16) runs wild, it will kill everything around him. He wants to be life-giving, that’s why he kills anything sinful. Sin is crouching at his door, and we must master it, or it will master us (Genesis 4:6-7). Don’t allow the devil to scheme and set snares that kill. Don’t act like a devil that does the same! Be a Proverbs 12 that does the plans and will of the Lord! Become a man who knows “in the way of righteousness there is life” (28). Be a righteous man who “cannot be uprooted” (3). Love discipline, love knowledge, and obtain favor from the Lord (1). 

Questions to Ponder

1. Has Satan set a snare (trap) for you in a certain area of life? Does he keep catching you in the same traps? 
2. Have you become a man who schemes and snares others? In what way? According to Proverbs 12, how do you overcome this?
3. What verse stands out the most to you?
4. What other questions came to mind?

Actions to Take

1. If you have set a snare for someone, in what way do you need the Spirit and Word to correct your actions?
2. Read Proverbs 12 and highlight the verses that stand out on righteous planning. What other Scriptures can you find about doing the Lord’s will instead of that of the devil, world, and the flesh?

Scriptures to Read

Proverbs 15:26-33

Prayers to Pray

God, help me only to devise and follow plans that are pleasing to you. May my words and actions be loving, generous, and kind toward others. Help me see the snares of the devil. Help me avoid setting traps for others out of revenge, bitterness, anger, or jealousy. I desire to be a blessing to you and others. Amen.